Yep, now you're considering and reconsidering grinders, and espresso machines at the same time. I see you have the Mini-E in there. It's easy to do, since it's so popular and it's at a good mid-level price point. I'll try to help you out and steer you away from it, and I think I already mentioned why it didn't last for three months in my house, but I'll recap quickly here: slow, clumpy, grind retention, inaccurate grind mass and a little noisy. The same complaints that others have, though there are also many satisfied customers.

I've never played with the SJ, but I understand it's better in these regards. It's also BIGGER (as mentioned).

As you noted, I think the Vario might might end up living in the shadow of a big espresso machine, though I understand it does a nice job.

One grinder that I'd like to play with is the Ceado E37. It looks good on paper and in the demo videos, but I've never touched one. Price jumped from $999 to $1175 recently @ WLL, but that may be negotiable. I understand there were some issues with some circuit boards, but I'm not sure if that was just a few, a persistent problem, or something that's been fixed permanently.

I rent my current dwelling, so can't really modify anything. So a dedicated wet bar may be premature. I think armoire would be a nice touch, but most of them may need some carpentry work. I don't know if they're actually tall enough to be operator-friendly. I think standard counter is about 36 inches, so the TV shelf has to be at least that height? Certainly if I can cut it to that height and put another board on top it would look very nice and add some character to my place.... sounds like project in a bit. I just brought a kitchen cart that will either relief the congestion on my counter, or house the espresso machine for now.

i have a fairly big living room. If I were to consider brewtus, I will probably get the Rotary version and get a two jugs as water and outlet sources. Need to find a way to "hide" these modifications for now.

Grinder that's another bugaboo right now. Still sorting out everything, considering brand, consistency, versatility, speed and cost. That's probably another few days/weeks of work. I almost just want to get the SJ even though it may be a little bigger. Not like I'm going for the compact feeling anymore, now with a sizable machine and two jugs sitting on the floor. SJ is almost like the standard people compares to, must has its merits. On the other hand, size does matter.... I'll stop now and think what i should say next. hahaha.

Easier to raise the machine to where you want it with feet or a stand on top of the main shelf (think CRT monitor stand) in a old tv armoire than to hide all that stuff in a rental kitchen. You can leave the jolly low. It doesn't have to match the kitchen just be comfortable to you. I would rather have the machine higher than counter for watching the pull.

kitchen maybe a little tight, so probably find a corner in the living room for it. I do like the suggestion that SJ can sit a little lower than the machine itself. It's going to be a giant sitting on that cart in the middle of the living room.... =?

my endless search has ended today.placed a order with WLL for Brewtus IV along with a SJ.

Maybe an overkill for the first machine, at least hold me off from upgraditis for a while, i hope.

I did get the Rotary pump version... from the expert, it should not damage the machine drawing from a jug. Will likely get a ball-check value, not sure will be totally necessary? Super excited for its arrival, should be here after the weekend.

Now marching on to learn about water, so the new machine will not scale!

my endless search has ended today.placed a order with WLL for Brewtus IV along with a SJ.

Maybe an overkill for the first machine, at least hold me off from upgraditis for a while, i hope.

I did get the Rotary pump version... from the expert, it should not damage the machine drawing from a jug. Will likely get a ball-check value, not sure will be totally necessary? Super excited for its arrival, should be here after the weekend.

Now marching on to learn about water, so the new machine will not scale!

Use softened water, but not pure RO water. RO water will destroy copper/brass internals. And damn, man, you really did more than double your original budget :-P. Might as well buy a TDS meter and keep track of your water hardness that way ;-). Enjoy your forthcoming toy! Got all your accessories, too, I hope: backflush detergent, descaler, tamper, tamping mat, knockbox, cups, etc.

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